Image preservation and transfer process

ABSTRACT

Printed images on paper surfaces are preserved by polymeric resin films applied to fluid saturated papers, with fluid acting as a barrier to resin film materially penetrating into backing paper. The printing ink adheres to the film so that the paper can be stripped away and the films with the whole images can be transferred and attached to almost any durable backing material surfaces. Some aged documents are subject to restoration process steps, such as bleaching, prior to preservation and transfer processing. For image preservation without transfer of the image, the original paper backing is not stripped away, but is film coated on the reverse side to further preserve and strengthen both paper and image.

1 1 Dec. 2, 1975 1 1 IMAGE PRESERVATION AND TRANSFER PROCESS [76] Inventor: Henry S. Penfield, 1807 Delmar Drive, Garland, Tex. 75040 [22] Filed: Jan. 28, 1974 21] Appl. No.: 437,192

[52] US. Cl. 427/146; 156/230; 156/234; 156/309; 204/132;.264/171 [51] Int. (31. B44C l/16;B41M 3/12; D44C 1/00 [58] Field of Search l17/3.1, 68; 156/230, 234, 156/309; 264/132, 171; 427/146 9/1971 Biegen 156/235 2/1974 Eckert et a1. 156/230 Primary ExaminerMichael R. Lusignan Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Warren H. Kintzinger [57] ABSTRACT Printed images on paper surfaces are preserved by polymeric resin films applied to fluid saturated papers, with fluid acting as a barrier to resin film materially penetrating into backing paper. The printing ink adheres to the film so that the paper can be stripped away and the films with the whole images can be transferred and attached to almost any durable backing material surfaces. Some aged documents are subject to restoration process steps, such as bleaching. prior to preservation and transfer processing. For image preservation without transfer of the image, the original paper backing is not stripped away, but is film coated on the reverse side to further preserve and strengthen both paper and image.

13 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures MGNTHLY NEWS US. Patent Dec. 2, 1975 MONTHLY NEWS II 19 13 F162.

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IMAGE PRESERVATION AND TRANSFER PROCESS This invention relates general to methods for preserving printed matter and images, and in particular to a method for applying protective resin film coatings to printed images, on their original paper backing, to which the printed images so adhere that the original paper backing may be stripped awayleaving only the films with the images adhered thereto.

In the form used, the resin film, alone, will preserve the image, but often the film and image are transferred to a durable backing material surface, by adhering the film to such surface. Alternately, the resin film may be left intact on the original, to preserve both the image and the paper; and, normally the reverse side of the paper backing is then coated with the protective resin film, also.

Printed, drawn, and hand-written documents with varying degrees of historical, legal, and aesthetic value are numerous, and these documents are often subject to wear and deterioration from repeated handling, while some documents are too valuable to handle at all unless absolutely necessaryand very old documents may require restoration prior to the preservation and image transferring process. Also, documents such as price lists, reference tables, legal records, instruction manuals and the like, that are handled repetitively, accumulate dirt, stains, and otherwise sustain such wear as to, too soon, render them useless. Further, artists and craftsmen, whether professionals or not, may create valuable artistic pieces with transferred printed images placed on backing materials of many choices; and many types of printed matter and illustrations, including typewritten and machine-reproduced material, and penciled or penned imaged are receptive to the process.

No present process is so versatile as to allow the restoration, preservation, protection, and transference of the printed, photocopied-or otherwise reproduced, drawn, or written, image, picture, word, or any combination of these, in any and all of the above described circumstances and for any or all of the purposes mentioned. Apparently, no present process provides for the removal and transference of the images from both sides of a single piece of paper.

It is therefore a principal object of this invention to provide a protective resin film process for the preservation of images placed on paper backing by printing, photocopy, pencil, pen, or other processes.

Another object is to provide a process whereby images may be preserved and protected on their original paper backing, or stripped from the paper backing and transferred with the transfer process protective film, to a durable backing material.

Another object is to provide in an image preservation and transfer process, a temporary barrier to paper backing material penetration by protective resin filmforming fluid.

Another object is to provide an image preservation and transfer process for preserving images on, or transferring images from, both sides of a single paper backing sheet.

Still another object is to provide an image preservation and transfer process that is as adaptable to the small, individual craftsman s use, as it is to large, commercial operations.

A further object is to provide in an image preservation and transfer process, a method of restoring old and discolored paper backing material to relatively newappearing condition.

Features of this invention useful in accomplishing the above objects include, in an image preservation and transfer process, saturating an image and paper backing with a barrier fluid, spraying the image and paper backing with a polymeric resin carried in an organic solvent, evaporating the organic solvent to leave a transparent protective film of resin over, and adhered to, the image, and optionally stripping the paper backing from the film and image. The resin film and image may be used as stripped from the paper backing, or it may be fastened to another backing material, as by gluing. Intermediate steps for bleaching old paper backing materials, and for strengthening the paper backing may be incorporated in the process.

Specific embodiments, representing what are presently regarded as the best modes of carrying out the invention, are illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 represents a document being saturated with a barrier fluid, in the first step of the process;

FIG. 2, a view of the same document being sprayed with a fluid of film-forming resin, in solution with a solvent;

FIG. 3, a view of the same document after solventdrying leaves a protective resin film thereover;

FIG. 4, a perspective view of a container with the resin film and image--either with or without the original paper backingtransferred thereto, and mounted thereon; and,

FIG. 5, an enlarged edge view of a document with images on both sides that have been coated with protective films, and with durable backing material glued between halves of the original paper backing material after splitting it apart.

Referring to the drawing:

The document 10 of FIG. 1 has a printed image 11 consisting of words and illustrations printed on a paper backing material 12. The document 10 is illustrated as a simulated magazine cover, but it could be a printed page from a book, magazine, or newspaper, or a handwritten page, a drawing, photocopy, or any sheet of paper carrying letters, figures, or illustrations placed thereon with pencil, ink, or paint-that does not run, nor bleed into the paper backing material when it is saturated with a barrier fluid. The process described herein relies on the immiscibility of some fluids; under most conditions, oil and wateras does the well-known lithograph process. 1

In the process, the document 10 is placed, initially, on a flat work surface 13, with the image 11 to be preserved facing it. For best results, the flat work surface 13 should be either glass or galvanized metal, although almost any relatively hard,flat surface is satisfactory. Water, as the barrier fluid 14, is sprayed evenly over the entire document 10, with a hand-sprayer 15, hose, or other apparatus, to saturate the paper backing material 12. With a paper backing material 12 that does not readily absorb water, a sheet of material such as polyethylene film (not illustrated), may be placed over the water-sprayed document 10, for a time, until the paper backing 12 is saturated from its absorption of water 14. This procedure is useful, also, when several documents are to be done successively, as they may be stacked,

with a sheet of polyethylene placed over each, after each is sprayed. Then, beginning with the top document, and using the polyethylene sheet below it as a carrier, the document is transferred to a flat work surface, with the operator working successively down through the stack.

After it is water-saturated, the document is blotted to remove excess water 14, and to dry the inked surface of the printed image 11. (Paper toweling, or a tissue roll, rolled over the surface works well for such blotting.) When a polyethylene sheet is used a described above, blotting is done after the sheet is removed. Any wrinkles in the paper backing 12 are smoothed out before, during, and after the drying procedure; and the document 10 is ready for the next step of the process.

The document 10 is now sprayed with a polymeric resin spray 16, from an aerosol container 17, as illustrated in FIG. 2, or from other suitable spraying means. In some cases, the resin fluid may be brushed or flowed onto the document rather than sprayed. The resin is carried in an organic solvent, highly volatile, and immiscible with water. The resin spray 16 is best applied by traversing the document 10 with parallel and overlapping spray passes until entire image 11 is covered, they by repeating the traversing, at right angles to the preceding spray passes. The procedure is repeated as many times as is required to give whatever thickness of resin film 18 preferred; and the operator soon learns from experience how many repetitions are needed for his purposesusually, two to four sprayings produce a satisfactory film.

With resin spray being immiscible with water, water saturation of the document 10 prevents the resin spray from penetrating into and through the fibers of the paper backing material 12. Further, significant penetration of resin solution into paper causes an undesired permanent translucency, allowing any image on the reverse side to show through. Also, water saturation acts as a deterent materially effective adherence of resin film 18 to any dry, exposed, paper backing material 12, because the highly volatile resin spray 16 forms resin film 18 before water 14 evaporates from paper backing material 12. I

Resin film 18, with the image 11 and paper backing material 12, can be readily lifted from work surface 13 by inserting a spatula or knife under the excessive resin film 18 adhering, outside the perimeter of document 10, to work surface 13, and working around the documentloosening and lifting the film border of resin film 18 away from the work surface 13. Document 10 will now appear as shown in FIG. 3, with a fringe 19 which may be trimmed away or which may remain as a part of document 10, depending on the purpose for which such document will be used.

If the paper backing material 12 is to remain a part of the document 10, as the remaining water evaporates, paper backing material 12 re-adheres (as originally) to the image 11 and to resin film 18, in areas of direct contact therewith.

The document 10 may be used either in this form, or a resin film for additional protection may be similarly applied to the reverse side of paper backing material 12 by again water saturating paper backing material 12 prior to resin fluid spraying-even if no image appears on the reverse sideto prevent penetration of resin spray and resultant transluency as previously described herein.

In achieving transfer, if desired, of the resin film 18 and printed image 11 from original paper backing material 12,. wet paper backing material 12 is stripped away as soon as possible after the resin film l8 dries. f the water 14 evaporates from paper backing material 12, the paper fibers tend to again adhere quite firmly to the image, along with the film deposited thereover; particularly where there is no image ink to prevent direct control of paper backing material 12 with resin film l8. Resaturation of the paper backing material 12 with water 14 may be employed to compnesate for any water 14 evaporation that may occur before separating the resin film 18 and paper backing material 12. Strong adherence of printing ink of an image to the resin film 18, with minimal paper fiber adherence, generally allows the resin film 18 and printed image 11 to be stripped, wholly, from the paper backing material 12. The irregular fringe 19 of resin film 18 may now be trimmed away, if desired, just as if the paper backing material 12 were still attached to the image 11 and resin film l8. Trimming may be done by cutting along the edges of the document 10 with a sharp blade and removing fringe 19 before lifting document 10 from the flat work surface 13.

FIG. 4 illustrates the mounting of a trimmed resin film 18, with image 11, transferred to a backing surface such as the wall of container 20. FIG. 4 might also depict image 11, with its original paper backing material 12 covered with the protective resin film 18, mounted in place on container 20 by being glued to the container outer wall.

The process is useful in preserving and transferring images from both sides of a document without loss of, or damage to, either image. FIG. 5 illustrates such a document 10 after the images 11 and 11', on both sides, have been film coated and separated for fastening to the opposite outer sides of a durable backing material 21. The procedures previously described are followedthrough drying of the resin film 18 on the one side of the document 10. Then, this dry, resin filmcoated side of the document 10' is sprayed thoroughly with water, to which a small amount of wetting agent has been added, and is covered with a polyethylene sheet (not illustrated). The resin film is sufficiently water permeable for the paper backing mateial 12 to become water saturated in a relatively short time. Water saturation at this time helps prevent image damage to the side of document 10', facing down; otherwise, dry spots may tend to stick to the flat work surface 13. The water saturation, blotting, resin spraying, and drying is repeated, and the document 10 can now be liftedusing a spatula or knife, as hereinbefore described, and trimmed. Document 10 may now be used as a finished product, consisting of protective resin film 18, image 11, original paper backing material (in one piece) 12 and 12", image 11, and protective resin film l8.

Alternately, the preserved document 10' can again be water sprayed and covered with a polyethylene sheet to allow water to permeate through the resin film 18, saturating the original paper backing material (in one piece) 12' and 12" that is to be separated into layers 12' and 12". That is, the resin films 18 and 18 are peeled apart; each resin film having, adhered, either the image 11 or the image 1l-as well as a portion of the layers of original paper backing material 12 and 12", respectively. Additional water saturation and careful brushing or scraping removes the paper backing material layers 12 and 12", but leaves images 11 and 11 adhered to resin films 18 and 18. Alternately, films 18 and 18', adhering with images 11 and 11' to a portion of the paper backing material 12' and 12", is thoroughly dried and mounted with suitable adhesive layers 22 and 22', on a durable mounting sheet 21. Thus, the original document is preserved with images from both sides intact with a durable filler sheet therebetween to strengthen the entire document as protected by resin film against damage from handling, and for other purposes mentioned herein such as the aesthetic appearance a document derives from this image preservation process.

The image preservation and transfer process is adaptable to sundry documents comprised of various inks and paper backing materials-with minor variations; and to documents in almost every stage of deterioration-again, with minor variations of the process, useful in optimizing results. For example, if the paper backing material used in any of the above circumstances does not readily absorb water, a small quantity of a wetting agent, if added to the water prior to spraying for initial water saturation, will speed absorption of the paper fibers. A mixture of ten per cent glycerine, or glycol, with ninety per cent water slows the water evaporation rate. Also, weak and fragile documents benefit from the use of a spraying mixture of approximately one per cent polyvinyl alcohol and water, as this acts as a bonding agent between the paper fibers and strengthens the paper backing.

In the preservation of aged, discolored documents, bleaching often restores the paper backing material to its more nearly original appearance. In bleaching, a document is placed, flat, on a work surface of wire screen, stretched over a frame placed on a horizontal surface. A satisfactory bleaching agent, of five and onefourth per cent sodium hypochlorite in water, for example, is used to spray the document after the initial plain water saturation spraying. The bleach spraying is continued as long as it is effectively removing discoloration and stains from the paper backing material of the document; after which, the document is carefully spray-rinsed with plain water until the bleaching solution is completely removed. The document must be dried in place before handling, as it is now very fragile. When dry, the document is transferred to the regular flat work surface, and is processed in the usual manner as described hereinbefore. Because of the weakened and fragile condition of many such documents, the paper fiber bonding should be strengthened by spraying the polyvinyl alcohol dilute, as the water barrier fluid, prior to resin spraying. If a document is torn, additional coatings of the resin film-forming fluid, applied over the areas of tears, will give structural strength to these areas.

The polymeric resins referred to herein generally are acrylic or polyurethane resins, but any polymeric resin, soluble in organic solvents, and that dries to form a tough, flexible film, may be substituted therefor. Polyurethane resins generally produce quite satisfactoryclear, flexible, and durableprotective films useful in the transfer process; whereas, acrylic films are durable,

but not so flexible as is desired for most documents. For optimum protection of the processed documents, the resin films are treated with a silicone oil, or other material that eliminates or reduces permeability.

While the process described herein is primarily for use on images that are insoluble in water, with the barrier fluid being water, the process may also be applied to water-soluble images by simply subsituting a solvent not miscible with the inked imagesuch as mineral spirits; or, by substituting the polymeric resin as the barrier fluid in the initial process, instead of using water.

Whereas this invention is herein illustrated and described with respect to a plurality of embodiments thereof, it should be realized that various changes may be made without departing from the essential contributions to the art made by the teachings hereof.

I claim:

1. A process of preserving a paper backed image comprising the steps of: saturating the paper backing with a barrier fluid that is a barrier to material penetration by a resin fluid, coating said image with a polymeric resin dissovled in an organic solvent, evaporating the organic solvent to leave a polymeric resin film over said image and paper backing until said image adheres substantially completely to said resin film, and then stripping away said paper backing from said image and said resin film.

2. The process of claim 1, wherein said resin is a polyurethane resin.

3. The process of claim 1, wherein said resin is an acrylic resin.

4. The process of claim 1, wherein said resin is any polymeric resin soluble in a non-polar organic solvent, and said resin dried to yield a durable, flexible film.

5. The process of claim 1, wherein said barrier fluid is water.

6. The process of claim 5, wherein said water contains approximately one per cent polyvinyl alcohol in solution.

7. The process of claim 5, wherein said water contains approximately 10 per cent glycol in solution.

8. The process of claim 5, wherein said water contains a small amount of a wetting agent in solution.

9. The process of claim 5, further comprising the steps of bleaching said paper with a solution of five to ten per cent sodium hypochlorite in water and rinsing said paper, said bleaching and rinsing steps occurring prior to said saturation step.

10. The process of claim 1, wherein an immiscible solvent immiscible with said inked image and said resin is used as said barrier fluid.

11. The process of claim 10, wherein said immiscible solvent is mineral spirits.

12. The process of claim 1, further comprising the step of transferring said resin film with said image to durable mounting means.

13. The process of claim 1, wherein said paper backing has front and back images thereon, and said steps of coating and evaporating are performed on both sides of said paper backing, and with said step of stripping including the step of separating said paper backing between said coated surface. 

1. A PROCESS FOR PRESERVING A PAPER BACKED IMAGE COMPRISNG THE STEPS OF: SATURATING THE PAPER BACKING WITH A BARRIER FLUID THAT IS A BARRIER TO MATERIAL PENETRATION BY A RESIN FLUID, COATING SAID IMAGE WITH A POLYMERIC RESIN DISSOLVED IN AN ORGANIC SOLVENT, EVAPORATING THE ORGANIC SOLVENT TO LEAVE A POLYMERIC RESIN FILM OVER SAID IMAGE AND PAPER BACKING UNTIL SAID IMAGE ADHERES SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLETELY TO SAID RESIN FILM, AND THEN
 2. The process of claim 1, wherein said resin is a polyurethane resin.
 3. The process of claim 1, wherein said resin is an acrylic resin.
 4. The process of claim 1, wherein said resin is any polymeric resin soluble in a non-poLar organic solvent, and said resin dried to yield a durable, flexible film.
 5. The process of claim 1, wherein said barrier fluid is water.
 6. The process of claim 5, wherein said water contains approximately one per cent polyvinyl alcohol in solution.
 7. The process of claim 5, wherein said water contains approximately 10 per cent glycol in solution.
 8. The process of claim 5, wherein said water contains a small amount of a wetting agent in solution.
 9. The process of claim 5, further comprising the steps of bleaching said paper with a solution of five to ten per cent sodium hypochlorite in water and rinsing said paper, said bleaching and rinsing steps occurring prior to said saturation step.
 10. The process of claim 1, wherein an immiscible solvent immiscible with said inked image and said resin is used as said barrier fluid.
 11. The process of claim 10, wherein said immiscible solvent is mineral spirits.
 12. The process of claim 1, further comprising the step of transferring said resin film with said image to durable mounting means.
 13. The process of claim 1, wherein said paper backing has front and back images thereon, and said steps of coating and evaporating are performed on both sides of said paper backing, and with said step of stripping including the step of separating said paper backing between said coated surface. 